Vacaville elementary school students receive gifts from NorthBay Healthcare

Bright eyes and toothless grins belonged to some 30 students in Cynthia Farrell's first-grade class at Padan Elementary School, who were experiencing a little dose of Christmas before their winter break.

Snacking on carrots, apples and even hot dogs Thursday morning, the room was full of energy and visitors from NorthBay Healthcare, who for the eighth year adopted all the classrooms at Vacaville's Padan Elementary School and Fairfield's Fairview Elementary School this Christmas season.

The schools are in low-income areas where teachers often find it hard to buy the necessary supplies for students.

NorthBay departments step in by adopting classrooms at the school to meet requests on teachers' wish lists.

"Having them here is so vital, especially for this population," Farrell said. "The students try so hard despite their circumstances. This shows them they are important and it motivates them."

The students eating their snacks kept eyeing the table full of goodies in the back of the room.

"They wanted to wait to open their presents," she said. "They're so precious."

Sitting with his buddies, 6-year-old David Alamo Hernandez said he asked Santa for new shoes. Micah Swift, 7, was more interested in getting more apples to eat, but was saving room for cupcakes and cookies.

Sitting among the energetic group was NorthBay's Dr. Amber Stirlen, wearing red and white striped socks and a Santa hat with a spiraled white pompon on top. The psychologist set aside her morning sessions of therapy to visit the students.

"I love doing stuff like this. This is my therapy," she said. "It means a lot to give back to the community and it's wonderful to see the community reaching out."

After a song of "thank you" for the visitors and the snacks, the real excitement was yet to come. Each child received a Christmas goodie bag filled with stickers, temporary tattoos, pencils, crayons and a piece of chocolate. But the true "excitement" was the "new friends" they received, either a stuffed monkey or a teddy bear.

Wrapping the long arms of the monkey around his neck, John Cronk, 6, was very happy to show off his present as he walked around the classroom.

Although seeing how happy the students were was enough, Farrell didn't leave empty-handed, getting a basket full of school supplies with her name on it.

"I love it," she said. "They ask us what we need, but this is so much more than I asked for. I'm so grateful."

"Each child has a story and yet they come here and still do their best," she continued. "It's amazing how excited they are to be here and how hard they work."